


the first choice

by latarde



Category: ITZY (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Angst with a Happy Ending, Baristas, Best Friends Choi Jisu | Lia & Hwang Yeji, Confessions, Drabble, F/F, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Kissing, Lia is a mess, Messy, Multi, Mutual Pining, OT3, Roommates, a big mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:15:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26054065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/latarde/pseuds/latarde
Summary: lia's never been the first choice,that's why she helps ryujin.
Relationships: Background, Choi Jisu | Lia/Hwang Yeji, Choi Jisu | Lia/Hwang Yeji/Shin Ryujin, Choi Jisu | Lia/Shin Ryujin, Hwang Yeji/Shin Ryujin, Jeon Heejin/Kim Hyunjin
Comments: 3
Kudos: 91





	the first choice

**Author's Note:**

> okay, wow. hey. this is horrible. extremely bad but it's been sitting in my drafts for almost a month and i gotta get this sucker out there. anyways, please enjoy and this is a mess. that's all. enjoy!

Choi Jisu has never been the first choice. 

At the edge of twenty, she's had a little too many heartaches that left her shattered and with insecurities that pinched her sides. It was bound to happen. That's what she told herself. Everybody she even thought about dating, had already thought about dating her best friend twice and she'd be lying if she said it didn't hurt. They didn't have to whisper about it because Jisu could tell. Their eyes would light up like stars when Yeji was mentioned and they'd stare a little too hard when she was in the scene. The brunette wouldn't tell anybody, not even her best friend, but it hurt when she dolled herself up and they'd only stare at Yeji. 

"It didn't work out with Hyewon?" Yeji questions. The roommates are watching television on their beat down the couch and Jisu's head is on Yeji's lap. The ash blonde's fingers would untangle whatever knot her hair had in comfort and she knew that she couldn't hold it against her. Jisu would never hold anything against Yeji.

Her best friend was mostly clueless about everything that went down. Jisu would cry when she knew Yeji was asleep and she hated herself for wanting to be more like her. The girl merely went around with her pretty eye smile and twirling her hair in her fingers out of habit. If Jisu hadn't known Yeji since they were kids, maybe she too would've fallen for her. But since Jisu has known her for years, she's left comparing herself with the beautiful girl.

"No, she wasn't my type. She was too serious for me." Jisu lies through her teeth and she's left staring at the television. None of it registers in her mind, only noise and she's lying. She did like Hyewon. She was outspoken and she made her laugh like no other. But she came clean about her feelings for Yeji and Jisu only smiled. 

_ "Your girl is out there somewhere, don't lose hope."  _

Days turn into weeks and it's not surprising when Jisu's favorite customer finds herself staring a little too hard. The mysterious pink-haired girl is staring at how Yeji smiles and her cheeks turn pink. A sigh leaves Jisu's mouth and it stings. Especially when this stranger looks like everything that her best friend has been interested in. She has bold hair and although Jisu has barely heard her speak, she has a deep voice. She knows Yeji likes that. 

Shin Ryujin was her favorite customer. The girl had been coming to this coffee shop for a few weeks now and Jisu was proud to say that she was slowly learning how to read her. It started with learning her favorite order and now, the barista could tell when the girl had a bad day. Her eyebrows would furrow together and she'd barely utter a word. Jisu was a bit too scared to share positive thoughts with the other, so she'd only squeeze a bit of whipped cream on her coffee and hoped it made her smile.

Jisu catches how a sigh leaves her mouth when Yeji turns and that's when she throws herself in the equation. She motions for Yuna to take her spot at the bar for a second and she makes her way to Ryujin's table. She has a too sugary drink in her hands and she's ready to talk with her. Even if it's about Yeji.

Ryujin has her headphones in and she's typing furiously on her computer. Jisu can't help the gentle smile that crosses her face. She finally gathers the courage to sit across her and her sudden presence makes Ryujin yelp. It's loud and it makes everybody at the cafe look back at her. Her cheeks burn red and Jisu only waves the others away.

"Oh my god... That was so embarrassing." She grumbles under her breath, covering her face with her hands. Jisu catches how she has a ring on her index finger and another one on her thumb. Through her fingers, she can tell that Ryujin has pretty pink lips and she's not even wearing makeup. It makes Jisu's heart leap and she only laughs at her reaction. 

"I'm not that bad, come on," Jisu says and she laughs a little too loud. Her hair is pulled into an attempt of a sleek ponytail and her apron smells of spice. There are splotches of sugar, spice, and everything nice on her t-shirt too. She tries to swallow the insecurities that clog her mind when she compares herself to Yeji, who always looks so nice in uniform. 

"Y-you're not! You just scared me." Ryujin says, finally regaining her breath. She pulls her fingers from her face and this time, confusion etches her face. "Did I order something extra?"

Jisu shakes her head, a lonely strand of hair coming to rest beside her eye. "No, I just came to tease you." There's a light playfulness in her tone and Ryujin's furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. "I have a hunch that you like Yeji." She states boldly and she watches as the other one simply melts at her words. Her cheeks are a bright red and she's instantly shaking her head. She has to admit that she's extremely cute. Especially when she's flustered to bits. Jisu can't help the smile that graces her face. Ryujin was truly a little too cute.

"I-I don't." She stutters and she's trying hard to defend herself. Jisu only clicks her tongue. She knows that she's lying. She doesn't need a psychology title to know when somebody's defensive or lying to her face. The barista, strangely bold, leans closer to the other and smiles once again. This time a knowing smile.

"You do. I've seen you. You always eye the clock when it's time for Yeji to come in and when she's on the floor, you suddenly want to other another espresso even though it makes your leg jitter." Jisu says, taking a sip from her drink and Ryujin's face falls. She knows that she's been spotted and she knows that she's worrying if Yeji has noticed anything. Jisu raises her hand and her words calm her instantly. "Don't worry, Yeji is clueless. I'm the only one here that's noticed."

Ryujin fidgets in her seat and she even goes on ahead to shut her laptop close. "I just admire her a lot. I'm sorry. I know you two are a thing."

Jisu can't help the small laugh that leaves her mouth. "You have it all wrong. Yeji and I? Never."

Ryujin grows oddly defensive of the other. "Why not Yeji?"

The barista looks over at her best friend and she catches how she's helping Yuna with orders. She's focused, her brows pressed together and her tongue peeks through her lips. It makes her smile, but it also makes her shrug. "Yeji and I have been best friends since we were kids. I've never seen her like that, you know?" 

It's the truth but at the same time, it's a lie. Yeji and her were more than best friends. They would go everywhere together and even wore matching rings together. But they were less than lovers. They wouldn't kiss each other or go on dates. In simple words, Hwang Yeji was Choi Jisu's soulmate. 

"Listen, you're not going to do anything if you only visit us daily. Everybody here already knows you're a regular and because I already know your order, you're my customer." Jisu says, trying to get her to understand where she was heading. She ignores the fact that she has butterflies in her stomach after calling Ryujin her customer. "The cafe hasn't posted anything online but we're hiring. And if you want to get close to Yeji, this is your best bet." 

Ryujin doesn't need a second to absorb this information. She leans close to the other and she's so close that Jisu can look into her eyes. The barista nervously backs away, but not enough abrupt enough for her to realize. "Do you think I have a chance with Yeji?" 

Jisu nods almost instantly. "I'm positive about it." 

Ryujin does apply for the job and it's no surprise that she gets it. Jisu watches from the sidelines and she's good at this. Yuna helps but most of the time, Yeji is the one that comes to her aid. Eventually, days turn into weeks and Yeji is still helping her. 

_ "Stop, you applied too much milk!" Yeji laughs.  _

_ "I didn't! Those are the exact measurements!"  _

Jisu hates how she's jealous. She hates how she dreads coming to work and sometimes comes late on purpose. She hates how she's locked herself in her room and barely talks to Yeji anymore. She tries to excuse it with missing her family back in Canada but she knows that Yeji knows she's lying. Jisu has internal turmoil and she doesn't know what's going on with her. She doesn't know why she's jealous of when Ryujin's hands brush Yeji's cheek and she doesn't know why she's jealous of when Yeji fixes Ryujin's hair. She doesn't know and she's scared to even find out. 

"What do you think about Ryujin?" The brunette asks. It's a few days after Ryujin's been hired and she knows that Yeji likes her. They're doing the normal routine and the blonde is resting her head on her lap. She's playing with her hair and it's when she realizes that her heart races when Yeji is near. 

"Ryujin?" Yeji repeats and Jisu takes a peek at her. Her cheeks are bright red and Jisu is instantly pushing her off her lap. The blonde is taken aback by the sudden action but when she sees the smile on her face, she knows that it's nothing serious.

"You like her!" Jisu accuses. 

Yeji shakes her head, almost instantly. "I don't like her! I think she's really cute. There's a huge difference. Plus, we just met!" 

_ Why does her heart ache?  _

Jisu's smile falters a little and Yeji instantly takes notice of it. She reaches for her hand and she's instantly worried, but the barista only shakes her away. 

_ "Don't go forgetting about me when you date."  _

_ "You made me worry about you, dumbass!"  _

Ryujin instantly fits in with everybody. Yuna has taken a liking to her and Heejin is more than pleased that she doesn't have to double shift anymore. Jisu smiles, but it doesn't meet her eye these days. She catches how bashful Yeji is and how Ryujin whispers jokes to her during the shift. It confuses her. It confused the hell out of her. She got upset whenever a customer made the blonde laugh but also got upset when anybody came close to the new barista.

"Hey," Ryujin greets the distracted barista and Jisu is instantly thrown off. She feels butterflies and everything in between. She's thankful that she's only grinding coffee beans and nothing dealing with anything dangerous.

"Hey! Are you clocking in soon?" Jisu asks and she's putting the powder in the machine. She's trying to busy her hands. Her mother always said that they would tremble when she was nervous. Jisu, at the age of twenty, can confirm that she's right.

"Yeah, um. I was wondering something." Ryujin says and Jisu tries her best to not tremble. It could be anything. Ryujin could ask her why she'd pull away when they were both making coffee or why she'd stare at Yeji when she laughed. 

"Yeah?" She answers but she doesn't look at her in the eyes. She's soon brewing the coffee but her furrowed brows are instantly in the machine. She's done this countless times. She could do this in her sleep, but since she's scared, she only stares at the working machine. She knows that she'd crumble apart if she looked at Ryujin.

"What flowers does Yeji like?" She whispers and that's what makes her look at the other. Ryujin's not even looking at her. She's staring closely at Yeji, who's with a customer and Jisu's smile falls. 

That shatters her entirely. 

She doesn't know why she's so hurt. This was the plan all along. The plan was to help Ryujin, who she was slightly attracted to, get with her best friend. She then realizes why it hurts. It hurts because Ryujin, who she does have feelings for, has feelings for Yeji, who she also has feelings for. Jisu only forces a smile on her lips.

"She likes sunflowers. The tall ones." She answers. 

"I was going to ask her out this weekend, do you think I should?" Ryujin questions and Jisu swallows the lump in her throat.

She nods.

"Okay, sweet." Ryujin smiles and she's instantly wrapping her arms around Jisu. Her eyes go wide and her body is frozen. It's a hug. It's supposed to bring her comfort and it's a display of gratitude. But it only makes her want to cry.

_ "This is how you do it," Jisu says. It's a few days after Ryujin was hired and it's closing hours. There's nobody here except the two of them and Ryujin had asked her if she could give her some pointers. Ryujin had asked Yuna for some, but she said that Jisu was the best at it.  _

_ "Like this?" Ryujin says, grabbing the small creamer and Jisu instantly corrects her. _

_ "No, hold on," Jisu says and she puts the creamer in Ryujin's hands. She stands behind her, her hand on Ryujin and she's trying to guide her to perfection. If there's something Jisu loves, it's this cafe and the peace it brings her. Her heart beats a little too loud and she's sure that the other one can hear it. "What shape do you want to make?" _

_ "A-a heart." She stutters and Jisu barely moves.  _

_ "Follow my lead."  _

_ And Ryujin does.  _

_ It looks a little wonky but the other can't help the smile that brews on her face. It makes Jisu smile too and for a second, she forgets that she's the closest she'll ever get to Ryujin. _

"Stop hugging in my coffee shop! Lia, get out of here!" Hyunjin says playfully and that makes Ryujin laugh. She pulls from the hug and instantly retorts with something. But Jisu's frozen. 

So, she only takes her leave.

The thing about Hwang Yeji is that she always knows when something is wrong. So when Jisu comes home, takeout in hand but with puffy eyes, she's instantly being coddled by her roommate. The bag is left on the counter and they're resting on the couch. A part of her, the rational part of her, is begging for her to stand up and go to her room. To not melt under Yeji's touch because her feelings aren't the same anymore. But the other part of her, the one that's enjoying the fact that she's being held, doesn't care if it stings. She just wants to be held by Yeji. 

Yeji hums. "I have good news."

Her plan worked. 

"Hm? What is it?" Jisu says, feigning ignorance and her eyes water. They're watering because she knows that her time with Yeji is running out and instead of her, it's going to be Ryujin. They're watering because she doesn't know who's she's jealous of. 

"Ryujin asked me out."

That's the killing shot. That's what makes a tear slide down her face and she's thankful that Yeji can't see. 

"Are you excited?"

"I am."

Jisu doesn't show up for work the next day. She locks herself in her room and turns off the notifications on her phone. She's under the sheets and scrolling through her phone. She wasted her hours scrolling down social media and she's trying to ignore her feelings. Even the thought of it, makes her eyes water. Hence her swollen eyes. She's just so exhausted of feeling.

She sighs tiredly and pushes her phone to the side. Ryujin had texted her three times already, worried about her but she doesn't have the strength to text her. She feels like she betrayed her for having feelings for Yeji. 

There's a light knock on her door. 

"Lia, are you okay?" Yeji questions and she only sits up. The door is locked. 

She takes a few minutes to answer. "Yeah. Do you need anything?"

"Yeah, um..." There's a silence that follows and she knows that she's thinking hard. "Can you help me with my makeup?" 

Jisu laughs. She doesn't know if it's because this feels like a slap on the face or because Yeji's bad at makeup. 

"Yeah, hold on."

The barista opens the door and she's going to her vanity. She might not be the best at it, but she was pretty decent. She's also done Yeji's makeup for parties before. So it wouldn't take her long. Both of them study each other when they're close. Yeji only catches how tired her best friend looks and how sad. Jisu only catches how pretty Yeji looks. 

"You look nice." She compliments and Yeji wishes she said that too. 

"You look tired." 

Jisu shrugs, "Don't worry about me. I promise I'm okay." 

Yeji doesn't push. 

The eye-shadow is applied nicely and Jisu hums. She's pretending everything is okay. There's eyeliner here and soon, she's grabbing the lip gloss. Jisu knew that she wasn't a fan of lipstick and she couldn't blame her. Yeji looked prettier with gloss. 

It starts innocent and Jisu puts the gloss pretty quickly. But soon, they're staring at each other. Yeji's staring hard at her, her eyes twinkling and the other finds herself doing the same. She's between her eyes and she doesn't know when she leans in.

It's gentle. Yeji's lips are soft. 

But she shouldn't have done that. 

They're staring at each other, wide eyes, and Yeji whispers. 

"Lia." 

The gloss falls on the floor and she can't believe that she did that. She can't believe that she did that to Ryujin.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Fuck." She whispers and before Yeji can reach for her, she's storming out of her room. She hears Yeji calling her name but she doesn't dare to go back. She doesn't dare to face her. She finds herself pushing the door open and she's running to wherever her feet take her to. 

Her feet take her to Chaeryeong's house and when the door is open, she's crying into her shoulder. 

It's a few days later when she shows up for work. If it weren't for the fact that Jisu has been working here since she was fifteen then maybe she would've gotten fired. But she doesn't even think about it. She doesn't think about anything. Clocked in and working the night shift, she pretends that she's okay. Heejin had asked if she was okay, but once she saw the shrug, she didn't ask anything else. She only hugged her a little tighter before leaving and now, Jisu was alone.

The twenty-year-old usually hated the night shift. She hated the fact that she had to clean and she hated the fact that she was alone. She knew that nothing was going to happen due to the security guards but still, she hated it. Yet right now, she didn't care. She didn't care at all. She was playing music a little too loud and singing along. Her messy brown hair was pulled into a ponytail and she only wanted peace. 

The entrance bell rings and she doesn't even look up. Her eyes are focused on cleaning the machines. 

"Unless it's for a glass of water, we're closed." She says, trying her best to sound cheerful but it doesn't work. At all. 

"It's to talk with you." Ryujin's voice echoes through the room and she freezes. 

Was she going to yell at her for being a bad friend? Was she going to ask her to stay away from Yeji?

"You could've just called me." She says but her voice is shaky. She doesn't want to turn around to face her. These few days she's missed Ryujin and Yeji so much that it's insane. She hates herself for kissing Yeji and ruining everything.

"I would but you left your phone at your place," Ryujin says and she can hear a pull of a chair. She doesn't want to turn around. She doesn't want to face Ryujin and have to tell her the truth. She doesn't want to face her feelings and ruin not one, but two friendships. Why couldn't she have fallen for Heejin? Well, Hyunjin liked her. But she could've easily kept it a secret. 

She throws the dirty rag aside and sighs. Jisu gulps and she turns to face the other. Her hands want to rest on the counter but she's caught by surprise when she sees the pair in front of her. Yeji's sitting on the chair, chewing on her lower lip and Ryujin's hand rests on her shoulder. Yeji's nervous and Ryujin's confused. Jisu can't do this right now. She really can't. 

"Yeji." Her voice breaks when she calls her best friend's name and she instantly regrets it. Jisu only looks away. She tries to play it off. She truly does. "Is this an intervention? Or do you guys want the night shift? Because I'm not going to argue if you do---" 

"Jisu, stop." Yeji whispers. She sounds almost as hurt and confused as Jisu is. "Can you please sit down?"

"Why?"

"Because you've been leaving us in the dark and we'd like to know what's going on." Ryujin answers instead and Jisu sighs. She truly doesn't want to face either of them, but she does. She's making her way to the table and she's sitting across them.

"We have to talk." Yeji starts and Jisu's staring at her hands. She's still wearing their matching rings. "About the kiss." 

The brunette freezes. 

"You can't just kiss me and run away." 

Jisu's heart won't stop thumping. She's scared to even look up. 

"Forget about it." She says coldly. "Forget that night even happened. You're with Ryujin now and I'm not going to ruin that." 

Her coldness catches both of them off guard. Ryujin instantly opens her mouth, Yeji a bit too gentle. 

"Jisu, do you not get what's going on?" 

The barista stands up from her chair and she feels like a child. She feels like she's yelling at her mother for not buying her the toy she wanted. "No. I truly don't. I don't want to talk about my kiss with Yeji. There's nothing to talk about. You two are together and I'm a bystander now. I have to swallow the fact that I have feelings for the both of you and that's on me. Now can you please leave me alone? I have to keep cleaning. I'm tired of talking and thinking about the same thing." 

They're both quiet and Jisu doesn't know why she keeps talking. She doesn't know why she keeps rambling. 

"I thought it was platonic. I thought that I was just jealous that you two would forget all about me but it wasn't that. It never was that. I felt that stupid spark when I helped Ryujin make coffee and our fingers would brush. She'd apologize and kept working but I went home and thought about it. I went home and Yeji would greet me with that bright smile. I couldn't handle it. It was only a matter of time until I fell for either of you. I guess I fell for both of you. That's stupid, right?" 

She's crying. The last of that is barely incoherent and she hates how she's ruining everything. 

"Can you two please leave? I have to keep cleaning and Chaeryeong is waiting for me." She begs, wiping her eyes but there's no response from either of them. Jisu's heart only breaks. "Okay. Then stay there." 

She turns her back to them and takes one step. It's a step that she won't ever forget. 

Ryujin, who was much more impulsive than Yeji, pulls Jisu back and before anything leaves her mouth --- she kisses her. Her brown eyes are wide in surprise because Ryujin's kissing her. She wants to pull away and she should pull away, because this is Yeji's girlfriend. But she doesn't. She only closes her eyes shut and embraces the two seconds it lasts. 

"Will you listen to us now?" Ryujin asks and Jisu only nods. 

**\------**

A year passes by and Choi Jisu's sitting on one of the cafe's chairs. The barista once, now a highly known coffee critic, was sitting on one of the cafe chairs and they were all waiting for the stamp of approval. They all wanted to add a new drink to the menu but they couldn't unless somebody from the board approved it. Ryujin swore that the cafe industry was something she'd never understand. If it were for her, she'd create it and stamp it on the menu without approval. 

"Good luck." Yeji whispers, planting a soft kiss on her cheek and she's sending her girlfriend towards the harsh critic. Her blonde hair was gone and instead of it, was a subtle brown color. Ryujin tries her best to keep calm. 

"You got this," Yuna says with a small smile. She's sending her the thumbs up she needs and Ryujin tries her best not to quake as she makes her way to the selected table. It was the table where everything went down between Jisu, Yeji, and her. What a seat she chose. 

It's been a little over six months but it's still so weird to see Jisu without an apron around her waist. 

"Hello." Jisu greets, standard procedure. "This is?" 

"My name is Shin Ryujin and this is the latest drink we've come up here in the cafe. It's called Ryu." 

Jisu smiles at the name. She watches as the other rests the drink on the table and she hums. 

"Ryu. It's a nice name. It slides out the tongue nicely." 

Ryujin nods in acknowledgment and Jisu takes a second to taste it. It has the damned wonky heart that no matter what, Ryujin genuinely can't master. And she's tried. Both of her girlfriends have tried to teach her. 

"Hm," Jisu says, genuinely pleased. "I like it. I think you can add it to the menu. There are a few things we have to fix, but they're not too important. I think you're good."

The baristas shout behind the counter and it's obvious that Jisu's professionalism has left the window. She laughs and Ryujin can't help the weight that leaves her shoulder. Jisu might be her girlfriend, but she genuinely doesn't play when it comes to her work. And she knows that she's going to polish that heart.

"I think your wonky heart is cute, Ryujin." She says and she rolls her eyes with a smile.

"You're full of shit." 

Jisu laughs and Yeji takes a moment to make her way to the both of them. She has the same smile as the other two do. 

"I'm surprised you went easy on her. I've read vicious things online. You're serious about coffee." 

Jisu smiles. "I guess I'm just a sucker for you two."

_Choi Jisu is never the first choice._

_Or so she thought,_

_Because Ryujin and Yeji would choose her over & over again._


End file.
